Occupancy detection (e.g., determining whether a structure is occupied by one or more individuals) can be an important part of energy management and/or energy cost savings. For example, the energy management settings of an area in a structure (e.g., a room in a house and/or business) can be adjusted based on whether or not an individual(s) is presently located in the area, thereby reducing and/or eliminating the waste of energy resulting from heating and/or cooling unoccupied areas. As an additional example, appliances located in an area can be turned off or energy consumption reduced if an individual is not presently located in the area, thereby reducing and/or eliminating the waste of energy resulting from running appliances while the area is unoccupied.
There are many different approaches for detecting occupancy. For example, cameras and/or motion detectors, such as, for instance, passive infrared (PIR) detectors, can be used as occupancy sensors. However, cameras and motion detectors, as well as other occupancy sensing devices, may be impractical due to high cost and/or complications associated with their installation.